Art

The weekend is here! Take a look back at what’s happened in the past seven days. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

Fan favorite Mr. Poopybutthole, of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s popular Adult Swim cartoon Rick and Morty, is getting his own comics miniseries starting in July. Rick and Morty: Lil' Poopy Superstar takes the scatologically named little guy on an epic adventure alongside Morty's older sister Summer Smith. The Oni comic is written and drawn by Sarah Graley, of Our Super Adventure, and colored by Mildred Louis. The series features a number of variant covers, which we're unveiling here today. Each cover varies pretty wildly in style, which is fun to see. It's particularly interesting to how the more conventionally human Summer closely reflects each different artist's aesthetic, while the quintessentially cartoony Mr. Poopybutthole remains his odd-looking self.

A library’s worth of comic books, multiple successful animated series, half a dozen movies, a bonanza of video games, enough toys and action figures to sink a battleship, millions of albums sold, and a “live”, touring rock ‘n roll stage show. When talking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles it starts to become easier to try to think of the aspects of pop culture they haven’t conquered. But what’s even more astounding than that is when you realize they’ve conquered so many of these corners of the zeitgeist over and over. For the last three decades, these radioactive, sewer-dwelling reptiles have time and again reinvented themselves for new generations of fans eager to learn more about martial arts and pizza, as well as pulling back in former “party dudes/dudettes” who now have little would be Turtle fans of their own. Or, you know, people who are old enough to have kids, but don’t, and are just happy to see the Ninja Turtles re-emerge from the depths to take over the airwaves and toy aisles yet again.

Take a look at the biggest names in superheroes and you probably realize that you're looking at a sea of red, blue, yellow. There are some greens, whites, blacks, etc, but the most iconic superheroes are the red and blue, with yellow accents. It's no accident that the easiest colors to render in the four-color printing process became the choice for bold heroes. But what does it mean for characterization of these heroes? What does it tell us about those characters?

The upcoming crossover between DC's Gotham Academy and Boom Box's Lumberjanes is on track to be the most highly anticipated team-up of the year --- and considering that we've already seen the cast of GI Joe in a karate tournament against the world warriors of Street Fighter and a Batman/TMNT story where Mr. Freeze was turned into an actual polar bear, that's saying something. Point being, anticipation is running pretty high. So high, in fact, that the first issue of Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy has racked up an impressive roster of nine covers, including retailer-exclusive variants from artists like Veronica Fish, LJ co-creator Brooke Allen, and more. Check them out below (along with the five regular covers)!

Earlier this month we shared writer George Mann's commentary for the first issue of the Titan Comics series Dark Souls, based on the hit action role-playing game set in a a primeval world of dragons, witches, and warriors. With the second issue arriving in stores this week, we've asked series artist Alan Quah to offer his insights on the creative process for the issue, and to share a few of his pencilled pages. So grab your copy of Dark Souls #1 and read along as Alan details his biggest challenges, his preferred storytelling methods, and the rewards of working on such an epic story!

The weekend is here, so take a look back and just what’s been going on over the past seven days. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

No disrespect to Captain Marvel, the Wasp, She-Hulk or Invisible Woman, but we all know who's the most important female superhero in the Marvel Universe. It's obviously Storm. She's been around for 41 years, she's usually the leader of one X-Men team or another, and she's been in movies and cartoons too (although they seem to have a hard time capturing how great she is). We've collected some of the best fan art paying tribute to her majesty.

If the astounding amount of fan art that is already available for a game that just came out a few days ago is any indication of said game’s quality, then Overwatch has got to already be a contender for game of the year. If you’re not a gamer or aren’t familiar with it yet, the quick explanation is that Overwatch is a team-based, multiplayer, first person shooter. But that’s just the skeleton. The proverbial meat on them bones is where the magic lies. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly that inspired such a fervent following from people for a brand new property long before the game’s actual release. Then I asked a friend of mine from the world of video games to explain it to me, and he showed me the trailer. I can’t recommend watching that trailer enough. After I watched it for the first time, I felt exactly like the little kid at the end that yells, “That was awesome!”

It was only yesterday that we covered the upcoming 50th issue spectacular for Valiant's X-O Manowar, and the news that the publisher will be marking the occasion with a jam cover featuring fifty different artists doing their takes on Aric of Dacia and his high-tech alien armor. At that time, we only had the names of five of the artists involved, and while getting a close look at their versions of X-O was pretty great, it left me wondering what the whole thing would look like when it was all put together. But now, I need wonder no more. Today, Valiant has revealed the full cover and the full roster of creators, and it's pretty great. Check it out below!